In his victory speech, Romney did not address Paul or the third-place finisher or Rick Santorum or Rick Perry, who expect to do well in South Carolina. Instead, he focused on President Obama, who he expects to face in the general election.

Glen Johnson1/11/2012 2:06:26 AM

Paul, meanwhile, is trying to humanize himself as he continues to get time in the national spotlight.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Jon Huntsman, who benefitted from a late surge to claim third place in today’s New Hampshire primary, made the state an important part of his strategy early on, visiting three times before he launched his campaign June 21, and flying to New Hampshire the day of his announcement.

Since then, he has relied on retail politics here, holding 170 events across the state, some attended by a few dozen voters.

“I’d say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen,” he told a crowd of supporters in a speech just after 9:30 p.m. tonight. >> Full story

Mitt Romney sought to regain control of the Republican presidential nominating contest tonight, not just by winning the New Hampshire primary but also by being first among the candidates to speak and by targeting President Obama alone in his remarks.

True, he faces a grueling 11-day campaign in South Carolina, where Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry will triple tag-team him in a last-ditch stand among more hospitable social conservatives.

But with back-to-back wins in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, Romney is rapidly approaching the tipping point where party thought leaders, fence-sitting voters, and big-monied donors begin to jump on the bandwagon of inevitability. >> Full story